The Smithsonian needs your help identifying Houstonian

Who is this Houstonian? The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History would like to know.

Last week, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History put out a call for help identifying a Houston man likely photographed in the 1870s.

Writing in the museum’s “O Say Can You See?” blog, Shannon Perich, associate curator for the museum’s Photographic History Collection, mentions working on a book about the history of portrait photography. Some of the images featured in the book come from the studio Barr & Wright, which operated in Houston in the 1870s. In the last half of that decade, the two had studios at the southwest corner of Main and Preston and the north side of Congress between Main and Travis. The museum has about 2,000 of the studio’s glass plate negatives.

One image in the collection that caught Perich’s eye is the unidentified man featured above. Of note is the badge the man is wearing that identifies him as a city marshal. Markings on the negative indicate that a half-dozen cartes-de-visite were ordered, Perich wrote.

There is some speculation that this could be R. Van Patton, appointed as a Houston city marshal in 1873. A look at an 1877 Houston City Directory lists the names of city marshals going back to 1839. The directory lists numerous Houston city marshals for the 1870s, beginning with Joe Smallwood in 1870.

So, any idea as to who this man might be? Can it be Patton? The Smithsonian would like to know.

I would imagine it was made on a glass negative plate which would account for the fine resolution and detail. He is a rather serious fellow isn’t he?

I realize he is posing for a portrait here but it is funny how folks used to dress up more back then, men just didn’t go out in public without a tie and jacket and they had no AC back then and probably only got a bath once a week!

Mr Stretchy – I think people just didn’t smile for photos back then. I’ve noticed this in many old photos, include some of my family’s older photos. Perhaps because photograph was a more serious (and expensive) business, people felt the need to look stern.

Part of the reason people didn’t smile in photos back then was that exposure times were lengthy. It’s hard to hold a smile for the duration, so the photographer would instruct the subject to maintain an expression that could be held for a while.

His rather protuberant ears should be mentioned in any written descriptions, so that could identify this gentleman. Clearly, about 60% of the men in Houston today resemble this guy. In the photo, he looks to be about 28 years old.

Let’s see now. Tall and skinny, long neck, big thin nose, close-set eyes, receding chin and hairline, probably a redhead, and with jug ears. Why, I do believe it’s Jim Bob Thigpen moved here from Bugtussle Tennessee after those over edgamakated legions of Satan dammed Yankees over run us. My great grandpappy said he knew a marshall by that name way back then, and since all those hill-billies looks the same anyways it’s a surefire bet this is ol’ Jim Bob hissownself.

Hey, no thanks needed…just glad to help solve this little mystery for y’all!

Can you access these photos at the Smithsonian? I would like to see them. My family has been in Houston since the mid 1800’s. Maybe they would have pictures of them. I know my great uncle was a Harris County District Attorney in the late 1800’s.

I look through old family pictures all the time. No names, no ideas. Who were they? Such a tragedy that these identies should be lost over time. I look at these old photos and think of a moment of their lives. What was he thinking? Where did he go after the picture was taken? What was going on outside at that moment? I hope this man is identified. Great old picture.

Daniel Busley was Houston’s first elected Houston City Marshal in January 1841.

There were approximately 12 others who served in the elected position of City Marshal through the Civil War.

After the Civil War Isaac Lord was appointed City Marshal and in 1866 began the process for “professional reform” which included the wearing of navy blue wool uniforms.

The picture is most likely that of R. Van Patton, who was appointed in 1873 during Texas Reconstruction by commanding Union General J.J. Reynolds. Van Patton authored the first “Houston Police Force Rules Manual.”

In 1900, the City Marshal position was changed to Chief of Police with the Office of City Marshal becoming the Houston Police Department.

I believe it is more likely to be Alexander Erichson, who was a much more popular and long term City Marshal than Van Patton (actually more often spelled Van Patten).

Van Patten was from the Radical party and Erichson was a Democrat. Van Patten only served one term after Henry C. Thompson and it appears that he was accused of bribery and was also accused of being involved in a swindle. I think Van Patten was City Marshal from 1873-74.

Alexander Erichson seems to have been very popular and was something of a crusader against all the “low” places in Houston such as Vinegar Hill. I believe it was Erichson that drove the Queen of Vinegar Hill, Caroline Riley out of the area.

It may not be a Houston man at all. The Smithsonian website points out that he seems to have ordered a “½ dozen plain” cartes-de-visite of this image, which is a small number for a man of some local prominence. (Cartes-de-visite were widely distributed and collected, almost like the calling cards on which they were based.) Seems to me this man may well have been visiting Houston from another city, and popped into the studio to have a handful of cards made for immediate distribution.

I think it should be kept in circulation among members of a very old and honorable fraternity – namely practicing, Texas journalists who have never had the privilege to read Byrd and would like to learn about him.

I have two colleagues, one at the Temple Daily Telegram, the other a freelancer, who have heard of Byrd but never had the opportunity to read his famous book.

The freelancer, Clay Coppedge, who retired from the Telegram, has a style so close to Byrd’s it’s amazing. He writes about unknown people in out-of-the-way places in Texas. He had a column for many years called ‘Backroads.”

We could work out a system for mailing it to next on a list. You would retain ownership.

I’ve been following sales of Byrd’s book online. The one you have is not worth a fortune. It might bring $30-$50 online due to condition at Abe Books, Alibris, Amazon or Ebay.

So it’s not like passing around the crown jewels — unless, of course, you consider that Byrd’s fabulous style IS the crown jewels.